Station indicator



H.11PENDRAY. STATION INDICATOR.

APILICATION FILED APR. I?. 1919.

Patented May 30, 1922.

IIIIIII mvENToR UNITED STATES HERBERT J. PENDRAY, OF 'VICTCL NIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

STATION INDICATOR.

Larmes'.

Application filed. April 17, 1919.

To all flo/om t muy conce/Mi.' v

Be it known that l, llnnnn'r il. PnNomiY, a citizen ot the Dominion oi Canada, residing at Victoria., in the Province ot British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements .in Station Indicators, ot which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to astation indicator ot that class which is operated by the conductor ot a train or street car to display to the passengers'the name ot the next station or street at which the car is empowered to stop.

The invention is fully described inthe :tollowing spec-ilication, reference being made to the drawings by which it is accompanied, in which: f

ll 1 is a vertical cross section showing the arrangement ot the name band and its winding and display rollers with the casing.

Fig; 2 is a :tace view ot the indicator to a reduced scale as exhibited to thepasseng'ers.

Fig.. 3 is an end view to an enlarged scale showing` the mechanism by which the indicator is operated.

Fig. Al is a detail showing. the :trictional connection ot the driving* gear with each winding roller, and

Fig'. 5 is a detail ot the detent bolt by `which the swinging' plate is secured in its several positions.

In these drawings 2 represents a flexible band ot fabric across the width ot which are 'successively printed the names ot the several stations which it is required to indicate.

The ends of this band 2 are secured toI rollers 3 and 4f, the axle pins 5 and Grot which are mounted inside trames 11. and the band is wound on the rollers to wind oil the outer side oi. one onto the outer side Yot the other. y

Intermediate oi. the rollers band 2 passes over a parallel display and driving` roller 7 the axle pin 3 ot' which is rotatably mounted in the side trames 11. A casing 19'encloses the rollers and band, which casing is apertured opposite the outer side of the display roller 7 to display to the passengers the name ot the next station.

The band2 is held in .trictional driving' contact with the display roller 7 by an idler roller9 mounted in slots ot the side :trames and weighted to hold the band 2 tightly against the roller 7.

3 and 4lthe Specification-of Letters Patent.

'vent over-running'7 Patented May 30, 1922. Serial No. 290,758.

(ln the axle 3 of the display roller is secured a small toothed wheel 11i` and on each side ot this wheel to moveV freely on the axle is mounted a pawl lever 12 carrying between the sides of the lever a double-ended pawl 13. Either end oit this paw] may be lightly held in engagement; with the teeth ci the wheel by a coil spring 17 ,acting on an outward projection from the middleV of the pawl.

By this pawl lever the roller 7 may beV ro tated in either direction as desired by bringeither end of the pawl 13 into enga-gement with the teeth oit the wheel 14. The angular movement ot the pawl lever necessary to move the band 2 through the distance between the station names is limited by a stop 15 outwardly projecting from a support 16, one end ot which is secured to the side frame' 11 and the other end carried on an axle 8. The pawl lever 12 is normally held at the backward limit ot its movement by a spring 18 and is moved to the other limit by the conductor orv other authorized party, by means of a cord connected to the end ot the lever.

By the mechanism so tar described the band 2 may be drawn in successive uniform lamounts oit one roller 3 or/l and delivered toward'the other 4 or 3.

lVhile the roller from which thc band is being unwound may be'lett free to rotate under the pull ot the display roller with possibly a slight frictional resistance' to preit is necessary toprovide a; means'for rotating the roller toward which the band is delivered and on which it requires to be wound.

This means is provided by a driving' connection between the display roller 7 and either of the rollers 3 or il, as required. It consists of a 4.gear wheel 20 secured on the axle 8 ot the display roller and a `gear wheel 2l and 22 on the axles 5 and 6 respectively ot the rollers 3 and and an intermediate gear wheel'23 mounted on a stud secured in a swinging' plate 24, by which the wheel 23 may be interposed between the wheel 2O of the display roller andV either' 3 or 4' as required. This swingingplate is provided with a spring-actuated detent pin 25 that will enter a corresponding aperture 26 to secure it in position for driving either roller 3 or l or a detent aperture 27 for securing the intermediate"wheel 23clear of driving connection with either roller, as may be necessary when for any reason the band 2 requires to be run by hand off one roller onto the other.

As the successive movements of the band 2 over the display roller 7 are necessarily uniform in amount, while the circumference on the roller on which the band is being wound is continually increasing, it is necessary to provide some means of compensation or allowance for this variation, otherwise the band 2 may be strained and torn apart, as the gearing will be rotated through equal angular amounts.

This difficulty .is overcome by connecting the gear wheels 2l and 22 to drive the axles 5 and 6 of the rollers 3 and 4 by friction that will yield by slipping as soon as the band is drawn tight.

The gears 21 and 22 are therefore not secured on the axles 5 and 6 but are free to rotate thereon against a frictional resistance which normaly holds them against rotation. rIhis is attained by mounting eac-h wheel to fit against a conical shoulder 28 and holding it thereagainst by a spring 29 adjustably held against the shoulder by a nut 30 screwed on the end of the axle.

In use, the indicator is mounted preferably on the leading end of a car fronting the passengers, and as one street or station is passed, the conductor, instead of calling the name of the next station, in a manner which is generally unintelligible, pulls the r cord connected to the lever 12 and through the pawl connection to the axle 8 of the display roller 7 the band 2 is moved through the amount necessary to exhibit at the aperture the name of the next street at which the vehicle may stop, and as the band is so moved off the display roller, it is unwound freely from one roller 3 orl 4 and is positively wound with a light tension on the` other roller 4 or 3.

If the car is to run back on the same route, the indicator may be transferred to the other end of the car and the pawl 13 and swinging plate 24 are reversed that the same movement of the lever will rotate theJ display roller 7 in the opposite direction and the other roller 3 or 4, as the case may be, will be rotated as the winding roller. If, as may happen, the car is on a circular route, when it arrives at its designated starting point, the conductor will throw the swinging plate 24 and its intermediate gear 23 into the neutral position, when, by means of a small crank handle on the shaft 8 the band may be continuously run backward to the starting station.

The device, as hereinbefore described, has the following advantageous features over `devices of a like character with which I am acquainted.

The band, which carries the station names,

is not exposed to excessive tension as the friction by which it is drawn over the display roller 7 is directly set up on thatroller, which is intermediate the rollers 3 and 4 from and on which it is wound and unwound. It must be distinctly understood that the band is not drawn over the display roller by the winding roller, which merely winds up the band as delivered to it by the display roller.-

igain, I believe to be new the provision by which the changing diameter of the winding roller is provided for, the winding roller being driven by a frictional connection between its axle and the positively rotated gears:

Also the means for winding the band on either' roller 3 or 4 as required, by the intermediate gear 23 mounted on the swinging plate 24.

These features produce a yparticularly effective and simple station indicator.

Having now particularly described my invention, I hereby declare that what I claim as new and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent, is:

l. A station indicator comprising a band of flexible material across which the names of the stations are printed in succession, a frame, winding rollers rotatably mounted within said frame,'to which rollers the ends of the band are respectively secured so that the band may be wound on either roller off the other, a display roller rotatably mounted intermediate of and parallel to the winding rollers, around the outer side of which display roller the band passes from one winding roller to the other, means applied to the band on the display roller for imposing a frictional grip between that roller and the band, means for rotating the display roller in either direction, whereby the band is withdrawn from one winding roller and delivered to the other, and means directly operated from the display roller'for winding the band upon the roller toward which it is delivered.

2. A station indicator comprising a band of flexible material across which the names of the stations are printed in succession, ay

frame, winding rollers rotatably mounted within said frame, to which rollers the ends of the band are respectively secured so that the band may be wound on either roller off the other, va display roller rotatably mounted intermediate of and parallel to the winding rollers, around the outer side of which display roller the band passes from one winding roller to the other, a free running roller weighted to rest on the upper side of the band as it travels around thedisplay roller, means for rotating the display roller in either direction, whereby the band is withdrawn off one winding roller and delivered to the other, and means directly .operated 130 from the ldisplay roller for rotating either' winding rollers to wind the band on it as it is delivered from the display roller.

A station indicator comprising a band of flexible material across which the naines of the stations are printed in succession, a frame, winding rollers rotatably mounted within said frame, to which rollers the ends of the band are respectively secured so that the band may be wound on either roller ofi' the other, a display roller rotatably mount ed intermediate of and parallel to the Winding rollers, around the outer side of which display roller the band passes from one winding roller to the other, means applied to the band on the display roller for imposing a friotional grip between that roller and the band, means for rotating the display roller in either direction, whereby the band is withdrawn from one winding roller and delivered to the other, and means directly operated from the display roller for Winding the band upon the roller toward which it is delivered, said winding means having a frictional engagement with the axle of the roller it is driving.

fl. A station indicator comprising a band of flexible material across which the names of the stations are printed in succession, a

3o frame, winding rollers rotatably mounted within said frame, to which rollers the ends of the band are respectively secured so that the band may be wound on either roller oil' the other, a display roller rotatably mounted intermediate of and parallel to the Winding rollers, around the outer side of which display roller the band passes from one winding roller to the other, means applied to the band on the display roller for imposing a frictional grip between that roller and the band, means for rotating the display roller in either direction, whereby the band is withdrawn from one winding roller and delivered to the other, said means comprising a toothed wheel secured to the axle of the display roller, an intermediate Wheel, a swinging plate on which said intermediate wheel is mounted, said intermediate wheel meshing with the teeth of said toothed wheel and itself havin teeth, toothed Wheels frictionally mounte on the axles of the winding rollers, all being arranged whereby said swinging plate may be moved to bring the teeth of the intermediatek wheels into mesh with those of either of the toothed wheels on the winding rollers, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HERBERT J. PENDRAY. 

